M-commerce: the protagonist of purchases in the near future

May
25, 2021

5 min read

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In the last year we have seen many changes in the consumer, from their interests and needs, to the way they seek to satisfy them. In this transformation, which is not over yet, there is a channel that has been strengthened and that will become a key digital point of contact with consumers: mobile devices .

When making a business strategy, especially when it comes to marketing , it must be considered that these devices are protagonists in the shopping experience. And as proof of this, to date, 86% of consumers do research on their smartphones before buying a product or hiring a service, even when they are in the physical premises. Also, according to an e-Marketer report, m-commerce is estimated to double by 2023.

The success of this type of strategy will be based on the user experience. So we’ve thought of four key questions to consider when planning.

The first is: How is the experience you offer today? It is not just about having a website, but that it offers a user-friendly experience for consumers. 69% of digital shoppers place great importance on simplicity when logging into the website or mobile app, followed by making it easy to operate throughout their shopping experience as well. Some recommendations are: present the information in a concise way, that the site remembers the shipping data to avoid the user having to enter them every time they purchase a product and offer alternative payment methods.

The second question is: Are you measuring the speed of your site with the correct metrics? Especially on mobiles, speed is essential. It’s not just how fast it initially charges, but there are multiple moments that can affect overall speed. For example, it is necessary to check the response time of the server, that the content that is displayed at the beginning is sufficient or that users can immediately interact with the page without having to wait. Tools like Test My Site or Lighthouse can be very helpful in doing a complete measurement. This is important because if your website offers a great mobile experience, you are 82% more likely that users will buy from their smartphones.

^{This is important because if your website offers an excellent mobile experience / Image: Depositphotos.com}

Third, it is important to question whether you are communicating the information that customers need to know. Remember that when buying online there is no person to explain to the customer, so the products must be presented in the clearest way and offer a true representation of how it would look in real life. For example, consider including full descriptions with measurements and details of the materials, take photos in good resolution, and you might even consider augmented reality. The content that online buyers look for the most is the price (70%), so check that it is always present and updated.

Finally, do you already have your application ? During the first quarter of 2020, the average weekly time that people spent using mobile applications increased 20% worldwide, these have become a fundamental link in omnichannel, since they help consumers interact with the brand directly, while allowing the business to detect the purchasing trends of its customers, thanks to the way they navigate the application. An app also serves to improve customer service, for example, you can reserve a product in advance, assist the customer through this channel immediately, send notifications about your order or add other types of services, such as paying to through it.

M-commerce is here to stay and now is the perfect time to be there. Consumers’ interest in buying from their mobile phones has skyrocketed in the last year, so brands have had to adapt in record time, but all that digital transformation is their ticket to a new era of retail, one that puts your products directly in the palm of your consumers’ hands.